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Joel Huiqui has been a natural leader for Las Vegas Lights FC since arriving in preseason camp.
Be it through his play on the pitch in his role as captain, his professional approach each day in training or even the way he carries himself behind the scenes, the LigaMX and Mexican National Team veteran has been one of the club’s true steadying forces.
That presence is as important as ever this week, as the team looks to bounce back in a big way from a tough California road trip, capped with Saturday’s 7-2 loss at LA Galaxy II. Next up is Saturday night’s rematch with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at 8 p.m. at Cashman Field. The two first met in Colorado Springs on May 11, with the Switchbacks taking a closely contested 1-0 decision, and tickets for the Las Vegas meeting start at just $15.
Ten games into a 34-match USL regular season schedule, Saturday didn’t provide an easy result for Lights FC (2-2-4, 10 points) to swallow, but in Huiqui’s mind, there is no other option than to do so quickly and learn from it.
“Well first, let’s recognize that we were the inferior team and we didn’t come out to play, we didn’t come out and show what we’ve shown in the past games,” Huiqui said. “I believe that we need to recognize that, and after recognizing it, it will help us get better. We need to get back into reality and start there.
“It was a hard hit for us, but let’s take some positive out of it, and the positive was that we can accomplish interesting things when we decide to. And what we don’t want to feel is what happened.”
One positive that Huiqui mentioned was the team’s ability to bounce back from an unusual scoring flurry from Galaxy II’s Ethan Zubak in the early going. After Daigo Kobayashi scored just seven minutes in to give Lights FC an early 1-0, Zubak would record the fastest Hat Trick in USL history, scoring three goals in the match’s first 18 minutes. But Lights FC fought hard, and even trimmed the lead in half before halftime with another Kobayashi score.
The floodgates opened for Galaxy II in the second half, as they capitalized off of a couple key Lights FC mistakes in the middle of the field and on the back end.
“We had a first half that was acceptable, but I don’t want to say that it was the best,” Huiqui said. “But offensively, we were effective. We had two goals and a couple of chances. We couldn’t win both parts, offensively and defensively. Once we have the chemistry to combine both parts, we will demonstrate the true potential of the team.”
Huiqui’s importance to the back line – which overall has been a strong suit for Lights FC all season – shows in the numbers, as he is second on the team in defensive clearances (48) and leads the club in interceptions (26), while also winning 53 of his 95 duels. Another key piece on that defensive front – Miguel Garduño – missed Saturday’s match with a lower body injury after playing every minute of USL action up until last weekend.
Should Garduño miss any more matches, it’s just another adjustment Huiqui believes the team can make as it looks to turn the tables quickly as the schedule progresses.
“The quality of the players we have right now are able to compete,” Huiqui said. “The important thing here is to recognize that each of us has to do a little extra in our positions. And starting from there, to help out our teammates a little more with communication, with a play, with something, that can all add up to help the function of the team.”
